Sunday, January 24, 2016

The human condition has been a topic of study for ages.
Nobody truly understands what goes on upstairs in the cavities of our mind and
how it works. There have been professionals that say they understand the process
of which all come to one intersection point, but the whole entire truth to how
the human brain works is so vastly unique from anything in the world, that we
still have not entirely figured it out. This is why mankind has not been able
to completely make artificial intelligence REAL intelligence. We are getting closer
that's for sure, but this fulfillment still has not been achieved yet. Once
that day is realized, the world will have a very controversial topic to talk
about it. Until then, let's imagine if this was already integrated into our lives
and we had no issues with it. What would happen if that newly created
intelligence became something more, an entity larger than anyone could think of
and how would it affect us personally? This is one of the many questions
director Spike Jonze hopes to show us.

Joaquin Phoenix

Also taking on the role as writer, Jonze’s screenplay
focuses on the relationship of a divorced man Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) and
his newly acquired operating system (OS for short) named Samantha (Scarlett
Johansson). Being that Jonze only has two other theatrical director credits
(Being John Malkovich (1999) & Adaptation. (2002)), it's great to see after
such a long time he can produce strongly admired work. This trend is parallel
to that of director Ben Lewin of The Sessions (2012). There is almost nothing
that can be said that doesn't work in this production. The script to this film
is beyond great. The themes that it covers dives deep into the psyche that is
the human condition and what we must endure as a species with this complex processor
in our head called a brain. It also demonstrates life lessons that occasionally
(or frequently) we forget about as we live our lives on a consistently
scheduled basis. One of the biggest examples is just the joy of living, no
matter what that consists of.

In life, everyone experiences emotion. Negative and positive
emotions. Whether this is love, jealousy, confusion, frustration, euphoria,
etc...these are all moments in time in which we as an individual are given a
chance to grow and learn. These kinds of events are what Theodore and Samantha
go through together. Jonze's script also covers what happens when one gets too
attached and how that affects one's judgement in a specific moment in time.
This kind of development is also given to the supporting characters played by
Amy Adams and Chris Pratt. All characters end up giving each other some kind of
advice that is much deeper after living through some kind of struggle. These
are all very important scenes because they help not only the characters understand
each other better, but it also indirectly teaches and motivates the viewers of
this phenomenal movie. Rarely do viewers come across a film that looks to
assist them in life.

Of this, it is important to just move with life. Jonze's
script has a moral and that is time and life is forever changing. Nobody can
stop change and if it's refused, the change will be harder to handle. Things
may seem weird at times and almost like they shouldn't be happening, but as
humans, we must figure out what we want. Once we know what we want, we must
believe that we will get what we want and then feel as though what we want is
already there. This is practically the same lesson that author Rhonda Byrne of
The Secret is trying get across. Live life to the fullest and do not measure
yourself based on your past. Learn from it and move on, this is all that can be
done. Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson have amazing chemistry together
and are quite amiable. Although Johansson is not on screen once, the scenes
they both share together are so relatable in so many ways that it would be hard
for anyone to deny going through at least one of the moments presented on
screen.

Where Samantha lives

The cinematography to this movie was shot by Hoyte Van
Hoytema. Hoytema has also worked on other well acclaimed films like The Fighter
(2010), Interstellar (2014) and Spectre (2015). Hoytema shots only move when
needed, but lay still most of the time, especially during scenes that involve
dialog between Theodore and Samantha. It just really takes you in. The lighting
and coloring is great too, very bright and vibrant. The Canadian band Arcade
Fire composed the musical score and it's great in its simplicity. The score
mixes synths with piano and occasional guitar. That's really at that was
needed. With these instruments alone, the score accomplishes the raw emotion
needed to complete each scene and it works every time. Again though, why can't
more production companies hire actual bands to do scoring. Mastodon did it in
Jonah Hex (2010), Daft Punk did it in Tron: Legacy (2010) and M83 from Oblivion
(2013). It's unique and should become a trend!

There's nothing that can be found that needs work.
Everything from the acting, music, camerawork and especially the writing is
massively successful in doing what it needed to do. Writer / director Spike
Jonze has created a movie for the ages that viewers can actually take life
lessons from. Hopefully, when we create REAL intelligence, we create a system
like Samantha.

When it comes to sequels, the ability to make it more
appealing and better in every way compared to the original that it spawned from
is a task many do not accomplish. When a product is made so special, powerful
people try to capitalize on it. We all know things do not last forever and for
movies, a concept’s popularity is only as good as its ticket sales. It really
doesn't matter how crafty the script, actors, direction or special effects are,
if the movie sells tickets then prepare for another round of what was just
made. This particular cycle does not happen all the time, but in most cases it
does. The Police Academy (1984) franchise is one of those series during the 80s
that was an immediate success. Once Warner Brothers saw the potential, they
began making more sequels. The first film, although not high end comedy, did
provide a number of laughs because of its cast and ridiculous situations. The
continuation of that story is okay but the repetitiveness is starting to rear
its ugly head.

"Don't mind me,...just being.......dirty"

With a new script written by Barry W. Blaustein and David
Sheffield who before this had only worked on SNL episodes, they did change some
things but a good portion just repeats the same events from the past. Also
because it was felt the last film was too crass, TV director Jerry Paris took
over the production. The story starts after the first by having six of the
original cast members moved to the worst precinct in need of law enforcement
thus giving them, their first assignment; ergo the title. The cast members to
return to the film are trouble maker Carey Mahoney (Steve Guttenberg), silent
tough guy Hightower (Bubba Smith), gun-crazy Tackleberry (David Graf), sound
effects master Larvell Jones (Michael Winslow), clueless Doug Fackler (Bruce
Mahler), timid voiced Hooks (Marion Ramsey) and their boneheaded leader
Commander Lassard (George Gaynes). Currently in charge of them is Howard
Hesseman playing Lassard's younger brother trying to get his act together.

Also under command of Lassard's brother is Lt. Mauser (Art
Metrano) who states early on that he looks to have the new recruits fail in
order for him to take over the precinct. The gang that terrorizes the city is
led by Zed (Bobcat Goldthwait), a split personality type that frequently
changes between finishing sentences. For the writing, there are a number of
parts that don't work. Since G.W. Bailey did not return Lt. Mauser is basically
the substitute fodder for Mahoney and his gang. Plus, his motivations feel out
of nowhere. There are also new goofy characters at the precinct, which were
most likely created because only some of the original cast returned. This
however oversaturates the number of funny characters. Adding too many quirky
characters is overwhelming and it doesn't leave much time to develop the new or
old characters. There's also no explanation to where the old cast members went
- like Mahoney's girlfriend. Speaking of which, this time Tackleberry has one.

Tackleberry's love interest is Kirkland (Colleen Camp) who
loves guns just as much as he does. How cliché. Every original cast member gets
a new partner that has their own weird habits. Mahoney has a partner (Peter Van
Norden) who eats crap,...almost. What is nice to see is the remainder of the
original cast. All of whom keep their characters like they were and play off
each other well. Even Hightower gets more dialog and that's appreciated. The
comedy and gags are mostly okay. There are moments that are repeated but they
are mostly the ones people enjoyed in the first film. There are new bits too
and that calls upon the newer characters. The comedic parts that aren't
acceptable though are some of the homophobic and sexist jokes. Even though
Hooks is timid in personality, she still can provide the right help. She did
more in the first, but here she just sits at a desk mostly because she's a
woman. Wow, nice one screenwriters.

Bobcat Goldthwait

There's also a new character named Sweetchuck (Tim
Kazurinsky) who owns a store and constantly unintentionally crosses paths with
Zed's gang. Some of those moments are comical to watch too. Cinematography was
handled by James Crabe, the same director of photography for Rocky (1976) and
The Karate Kid (1984). Here Crabe's camerawork is steady and rightfully
captures all the funny scenes. Composer Robert Folk returns to score the music
to the series and maintains the same theme thankfully. Throughout the rest of
the movie, the scenes have what feel like a stock 80s sound to them but that's
also a part of what made the first movie fun. Folk's music continues to have
the march of snare drum and flutes to give it that military feel even though
the police force is not an army. Things could be worse but then again we are
only at the first sequel. There are lots more to come and who knows how that'll
go. Only one way to find out though.

This is just an average retread of the original. The script
is too abundant in new hokey characters and it also doesn't let the originals
develop. Plus, there's no reason given as to why some of the originals do not
return. There are still some laughs to be had though with the original casts'
antics and silly moments. The jokes are thankfully toned down a bit too (some).

Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the most popular actors of
his time during the 1980s. His ability to rack up the body count and spew out
catchy one liners was uncanny to say the least, especially for a foreign born
actor. Fans love to recount his most famous roles but if there's ever one that
he will forever be remembered for, that is his portrayal of the terminator
throughout James Cameron's Terminator franchise. Unfortunately like all
original movies with sequel after sequel, the franchise began to show its age.
Fans of series were far from impressed with Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
(2003) and McG's Terminator: Salvation (2009). To be honest, they were not
terrible films. What viewers didn't enjoy about them was they did not follow
the same vein as the first two. The problem was that it was difficult to
surpass the second act. Finally, fans saw Schwarzenegger return as the T-800 to
this sequel that even creator James Cameron himself proclaimed to be the
official sequel to T2 and the best sequel yet. So it was said.

Courtney & Clarke

There is no doubt that the crew behind this looked to
satisfy the large fan base. Yet, there were certain decisions that were made
that seem careless. The biggest problem that outraged many fans was the
trailer, which immediately spoiled the film by revealing John Connor was a terminator.
This drops a lot of buildup to a surprising reveal. The plot to this story
takes place during 2029. John Connor (Jason Clarke) and Kyle Reese (Jai
Courtney) just about defeat Skynet when the cycle begins all over again and a
terminator is sent back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke). Reese is
sent back but learns that things have changed and has leaped into another
timeline where everything he thought is the exact opposite. The script was
written by Laeta Kalogridis (Alexander (2004) and Shutter Island (2010)) and
Patrick Lussier (Drive Angry (2011)) and for the most part it works. Even the
John Connor spoiler was fine, that fault is on marketing.

A component of the writing that is harder to come to grips
with is the timeline element. The movie tries to sound sophisticated by having
Arnold state scientific facts and information, but the whole idea sounds
convoluted. However this can be skimmed over because no one knows for sure if
this is really true, so audiences could suspend their disbelief. Here's where
it gets confusing though, Cameron clearly stated that this is the 3rd official
sequel to that of Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991). So why is it that some of
the plot points within this movie's script have references to that of Terminator:
Salvation (2009)? The film even deliberately ignores the events of McG's movie
yet still indirectly references it? Which is it then? One other part of the
writing that wasn't completely needed was unnecessary added roles.
Specifically, J.K. Simmons and Byung-hun Lee play characters that are just
there for convenience or nostalgia and not much else. There's no need to cram
in everything.

There is still a good amount of enjoyment to get in return
though. Even with script's occasional overbloatedness, viewers of the film will
have a nice ride surfing the wave of nostalgia the film provides. This wave is
big; it has both auditory and visual references to the older films and even
switches up the role of who does what (since it is an alternate timeline and
all). The dialog equally matches the scenes filmed and the actors play off each
other well. Schwarzenegger returns as the T-800 and continues to perform at his
best. The dialog he's given feels no different than it was back in T2. Jai
Courtney and Emilia Clarke have amiable chemistry, plus their development in
their relationship isn't forced either. Even with all the flack Courtney has
gotten for other films, he sounds like he's legitimately doing his best. Jason
Clarke does his best too and although his role lost the buildup it could have
had, he too acts like John Connor would. His scar makeup is grizzly looking.

"Do my scars scare you?...."

With the passing of special effects wiz Stan Winston in 2008,
this second Terminator film does not receive his personal blessing. However,
the special effects still look decent in action. Perhaps the only part that
doesn't look right is the fully robotic T-800. They do not have the same
tangible appearance like the others from past films. The cinematography is well
lit, clear and has plenty of wide scope shots to boot. The director of
photography for this sequel was Kramer Morgenthau who also worked on Thor: The
Dark World (2013) with director Alan Taylor (who directed this sequel).
Producing the film score is Scottish composer Lorne Balfe. Thankfully, Balfe
continues to reuse Brad Fiedel's main theme from the original films and has the
right emotional cues for the softer moments as well. The executive music
producer was none other than Hans Zimmer and anyone who follows scores should
be able to pick where Zimmer influenced it. It could be worse but it isn't.

The writing can get a bit confusing and it also has some
unnecessary role casting but it doesn't bring it down too much. The main cast
works very hard, the action is entertaining and the music sticks appropriately
to its roots. Now if only the marketing department left out the huge John
Connor spoiler in their trailers.

Saturday, January 23, 2016

In the mid-1970s, Tobe Hooper had unleashed horror in a new
way to moviegoers with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). It was a film that
had so much going for it. It may have been outrageously controversial for its
depiction of sadistic violence but it served its purpose in being a scary film.
It relied on simplicity and minimalism in order to drive its viewers crazy.
Then Hooper created the long awaited sequel that confused his original fans by
attempting to keep continuity while simultaneously changing everything else. It
turned out being more of spoof of itself than being a sequel. When the
franchise finally released its second sequel, it was even more mixed in
reception due to its further lack of connection to the last two movies even
though its title said otherwise. At that point, it would've been thought that
maybe the franchise was suffering from lack of attention. Apparently the next
sequel (this one) shockingly was neglected even further. It by far is the most
confusing and disappointing to say the least.

The new Leatherface,.......

The overall idea behind the story is no different from that
of the other movies before it. A group of teens end up crossing paths with
Leatherface and his notorious family of cannibals. This sequel was written and
directed Kim Henkel, the original co-writer to the original film that blew
everyone away. According to Hinkel it was supposed to be the official sequel to
the original film. As to what he thought consisted of making it the official
sequel is barely visible. The writing is all over the place and the continuity
is very unfaithful. Like the films before it, it begins with a monologue
recounting the past events, yet it was supposed to ignore them too. So how does
that work? There's also a subplot about Leatherface's family having some kind
of government connection or something along those lines. Allegedly they report
to a higher authority and their motives go higher than their personal needs?
The most painful part of the writing belongs to the dialog and the actors don't
make it any better.

Almost the entire cast essentially is an over the top
exaggeration of some horror trope but worse. Starring as the heroine is Renée
Zellweger best known for her breakout role in Jerry Maguire (1996). She's also
accompanied by Lisa Marie Newmyer as Heather, who constantly spouts out useless
sentences that don't add anything to develop her role. There's also Tyler Shea
Cone playing Heather's boyfriend Barry who is none the more likable. They also
come across a local who tries to help them played by Tonie Perensky. All of which
can't deliver a line that sounds the least bit believable. The only thing that
really keeps a viewers’ attention is because of how bad the actors are. The
only actor who has some saving grace (for himself) is now esteemed actor
Matthew McConaughey playing Vilmer, a member of Leatherface's family.
McConaughey just hams it up playing his role as psychotic as possible. Playing
Leatherface is Robert Jacks who is annoyingly bad because all he does is scream
nonstop.

The only other positives worth mentioning are the practical
and makeup effects. There's not an abundance of practical effects but the fact
that it was used shows effort. The same could be said for the makeup. McConaughey's
character is part robotic with a hydraulic leg and that does make it
interesting to see. How he got that way and as to where he came from, if this
is the "official sequel" to the original, is never explained either.
What a surprise. This is it though for pluses. Even though there are practical
effects, there is almost no gore to this movie. It makes the previous film to
this franchise look bloodthirsty. It's actually very surprising. With all the
inhumane and off putting scenes that involve grotesque acts, there's hardly a
drop of blood shown throughout the running time to this movie. Sure, minimalism
works to an extent but if nothing else is really working in the overall
product, at least give the audience something visual.

"Does this scene look familiar to you?!...."

That also goes for background elements. The director of
photography to this project was Levie Isaacks. Isaacks is best known for being
the DP to movies of Guyver (1991) and the infamous horror movie Leprechaun
(1993). The work that Isaacks presents here isn't much to talk about. Much of
the shots throughout the film consist of turning away from anything gory and
refusing to place any establishing shots. Viewers will see the disarray of the
cannibal house but there's no real setup. The films before it at least had some
kind of arrangement. Here it's just everything everywhere with no real order
and it's boring. For music, Wayne Bell from the original film returns and his
composition is uneventful too. There are moments where he creates a tune or two
that establish a nice sense of dread but other than that there's nothing
memorable about it. Much of the instruments involved are synthesizers and since
it is not used properly, the audio is rarely effective. So sad it got this bad.

It's a shocking film all right. It's shocking that people
who were involved with the original returned and had completely forgotten what
made it so unique. Matthew McConaughey is possibly the only actor who tries
(somewhat) and there are some okay looking effects. The rest isn't good. It
makes the other sequels before it look like it they had better writers. Not
even a gorehound would enjoy this.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

The struggle of personal enrichment in life is a confusing
path for many people. It really takes concentration and self-control in the
individual to think about what they want and what moves them to have this
desire. This particular journey is more difficult for others who have specific
limitations. When a person has a healthy and able body, they have the power to
do anything they set themselves and minds to. For people who have physical
disabilities, this power is capped off
depending on where their disability lies. For people with Poliomyelitis
or Polio for short, their limitations lies in the physical reality. Every
sensory and mental activity remains unchanged, but the strength to move certain
muscles have vanished. In today's time, doctors have helped in the prevention
of this life changing disease and in most cases things end up fine. However,
there are still people that become infected and lose the required muscle
control to function normally. This is the story of man with that disease who
tested his destiny.

Helen Hunt & John Hawkes

Based on an article written by Mark O'Brien and adapted by
Ben Lewin as writer/director to this film, this biopic tells the emotional
journey of man just looking to achieve a small accomplishment. Renowned poet
Mark O'Brien (John Hawkes - Identity (2003) and American Gangster (2007)) has
been a polio victim since he was six years old. Paralyzed from the neck down,
living in an iron lung machine day-in-day-out, and tired of caretakers who look
at him like he's a chore, decides one day that it's time for a change. The
biggest change he wants is to lose his virginity. Seeking advice he goes to
Father Brendan (William H. Macy) to see what he should do. At first he thinks
he's onto something when his new attendee Amanda (Annika Marks) really enjoys
his company, but it turns out he got too attached. Making calls he's given
contact information to Cheryl (Helen Hunt - What Women Want (2000)), a
professional sex surrogate and therapist Vera (Moon Bloodgood).

Scriptwise, writer/director Ben Lewin has created such
touching story. Considering the last script he was ever credited for was back
in 1994, that's very impressive. Most of the time when writers and directors
have that long of a hiatus, they are no longer in touch with what is currently
trending with contemporary audiences when they return. Each lead and main
supporting character are exceptionally developed and charming simultaneously.
John Hawkes as Mark O'Brien sounds feeble but he does have an energetic spirit
for a man who can only move his head. He's even got a bit of a foul mouth.
William H. Macy as Father Brendan is comical because of his profession and
trying to accept O'Brien's situation at the same time. How many times do
priests have to listen to that kind of a story - one that goes against the
teachings of god? Even Moon Bloodgood's role that is initially not the most
talkative to O'Brien warms up to him.

Helen Hunt as O'Brien's surrogate is astounding. To play
such a revealing role (and at being close to 50 at the time) is extremely
courageous. Aside from her profession though, she makes her role very appealing
through her personality and analytical skills too. Her chemistry with Hawkes is
quirky at first but does develop into a touching connection with each other.
The only problem in Lewin's script is that Hunt's role doesn't make a lot of
sense, pertaining to her life. For her profession, one would think she would
live solo, but no. She has a husband (Adam Arkin) who is aware of what she does
and isn't very concerned and also has a son (not mentioned if he knows). It's a
bit odd to be honest. Controversial indeed. How does a family stick together
through that,...beats me. This is it though. What's also great about Lewin's
writing is that he also covers how and why getting too attached to someone can
be harmful. One can be so caught up in it that they forget it’s business.

"Well.....this is a new request..."

This is why situations like these are difficult to handle.
An experience like that is so personal that realizing that it's not real can be
very destructive to one's self esteem. The camerawork by Geoffrey Simpson (Life
(1999)) was well done. Every scene was brightly lit and completely displays to
its audience what they should be seeing. This is from the point of where
viewers are introduced to O'Brien in the iron lung, to his travels, where
people take of him and when he spends time with others. The more sensual scenes
between Hawke and Hunt are pretty graphic but much is hidden too. The music is
another step up. Composer Marco Beltrami worked on this project and although
his score is much shorter in entirety, it is nothing like his other prior works.
Beltrami has a main theme and instead of relying on full orchestra, he calls
upon plucking cellos, piano and some synth soundscape. Beltrami is usually
bombast in his horror scores but this is a complete 180 change that should be
heard.

Helen Hunt's character is really the only one who has a
strange lifestyle throughout the film, which makes it questionable but other
than this, all characters (including hers) are highly developed. Every scene is
well lit, the script is remarkably touching, the actors all perform well and
the music by usual horror composer Marco Beltrami demonstrates his capability
that he can create music for other genres as well with a very simplistic yet
emotional score.

For the original Ride Along (2014), it was by no means a
buddy cop movie that broke any rules or boundaries. It was mostly a standard
affair of the usual buddy cop genre clichés that occasionally threw something
new into the mix. One of the biggest differences for this feature among other
cop comedies was the pair of main leads. Putting tough guy Ice Cube and comic
short stack Kevin Hart together wasn't a bad idea at all. Even with the number
of problems the picture had, Cube and Hart were able to make the watch a
tolerable experience. Of course because this was probably one of the big
reasons as to why that movie did well, Universal Studios green lit this sequel.
And like other sequels that come after their originals, their lack of attention
begins to show. There's nothing wrong with hiring the majority of the same crew
to film a sequel but they have to know how to develop the story and not just
run on auto-pilot; rehashing everything from the first entry. Sadly this is
practically what occurs here.

Hart, Cube and Munn

Directed by Tim Story and written by duo Phil Hay / Matt
Manfredi again, you would think there'd be some kind of change in where the
narrative went. Not really. One of the biggest topics that is consistently
brought up during this movie is the matter of "focus". The script to
this sequel struggles to have that focus. Even with everything James (Ice Cube)
and Ben (Kevin Hart) went through in Ride Along (2014), Ben is still not an
official detective. After making their latest bust, James discovers that the
drugs coming into where he lives is being delivered from Miami. With Ben's
wedding is a few days away, James takes Ben on another "ride along"
in hopes of having his sister realize she loves a fool. The premise is more or
less the same concept except this time, the surrounding circumstances are
altered slightly. Going back to what was mentioned earlier, the writers and
director just seemed to be on auto-pilot for this project. Hardly any of it
feels different from before.

Ice Cube and Kevin Hart still have a bit of chemistry
together on screen but it now really depends on whether the viewer is
interested in seeing familiar slapstick. Hart is loud and Cube fumes out the
ears or stares in confusion. There are a couple of good quips each lead has but
the comedy is more hit and miss now. There's also a new addition of supporting
characters, which belong to Olivia Munn as Maya, a Miami cop and Ken Jeong as A.J.,
the main suspect who has a connection to the crimes. Although Munn doesn't have
very much dialog that develops her character, she too gets a few good scenes
in. Ken Jeong is alright in his role but he can get a bit annoying for those
who already aren't fond of Kevin Hart's character. Jeong's role just adds to
it. Playing the villain, Antonio Pope, is Benjamin Bratt, who downright nails
the "bad guy" voice and look but fails to have any development
written for him. This makes him even less of a threat than Laurence Fishburne
from Ride Along (2014).

There are few other faces to be seen as well. Tika Sumpter
playing Angela (Ben's soon-to-be wife) returns since she’s more or less a plot
device than anything else. Carlos Gomez (from Desperado (1995)) plays the Miami
captain of the force and it certainly was a surprise to see him. It's been a
while. Lastly, Michael Rose plays a henchman of Pope. The only reason why I
mention Rose is because for a while he looked like Robert John Burke. It's kind
of an eerie resemblance. The action sequences are adequately staged and some
parts of those are different when it came to using vehicles and such. The
special effects were okay too except for one scene, which dealt with Ben
relating an action sequence to a video game. This time, instead of Ben just
stating to pretend it's a video game, the scene literally turns into one and
its transition is jarring. It's somewhat inventive but at the same time, the
visual downgrade makes it look like the crew was just trying to save money.

"Come with me,....I make this sequel so much betterrrr"

The cinematography has changed hands for this feature.
Originally for Ride Along (2014), the director of photography was Larry
Blandford who had some very uninteresting shots. In Ride Along (2014), much of
the situations involved were inside buildings with dull colors. Here, Mitchell
Amundsen takes over and it looks a ton better. The setting is in Miami, so
there better be some wide scope shots of scenery. Even for the inside of
buildings, the structural designs were much more elaborate giving viewers at
least something to look at. Amundsen also worked on Transformers (2007) and G.I.
Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009). Lastly, the film score was once again produced
by Tim Story collaborator Christopher Lennertz. Strangely enough Lennertz does
not reuse his main theme from the original movie but at least keeps the same
tone of his cues. A franchise like this should have a main theme to fall back
on though. That would've made it somewhat more memorable.

Ride Along (2014) wasn't a great buddy cop movie but it did
feel different. This sequel just re-does almost everything except the mission
is different. Ice Cube and Kevin Hart still have likable chemistry and the
cinematography has improved but much of the antics and formula are very much
the same; making this feel too similar for its own good.

Friday, January 15, 2016

Hugh Jackman has had his fair share of films people always
enjoy. The Prestige (2006) and Prisoners (2013) are of a couple that Jackman is
well respected for. With this, Jackman has had a steady career of being cast in
various films. By far the one everyone will remember him for though is his
portrayal of Logan AKA Wolverine from X-Men (2000) and the numerous sequels and
spin-offs that came after. There have only been a handful of features that
Jackman probably thinks people shouldn't bother seeing. By now one of his
highest choices would probably be Movie 43 (2013), which received extremely
negative reviews. Before this though, Jackman was in another film that isn't
exactly high end either. For that case it belongs to this film, an action
fantasy movie that is cluttered with several things that make it a bore to sit
through. It isn't the absolute worst but it gets very tiresome over time. There
just needed to be less of what was present and perhaps it might've felt
smoother.

"Come on man, this wasn't that bad a film"

Picking up where the animated prequel left off after chasing
Mr. Hyde, Gabriel Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) is assigned to go after Count
Dracula (Richard Roxburgh) who’s after an ancient family bloodline lead by Anna
Valerious (Kate Beckinsale). Turns out Drac wants the secret of life created in
Frankenstein's monster (Shuler Hensley). After the financial success of The
Mummy Returns (2001), Stephen Sommers came back for this project as the
writer/director. This is probably where most of the problem lies. After the
waves he made with his mummy franchise, Sommers just went on auto pilot, making
action fantasy spectacles that became less and less engaging. Looking back I
know my review to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) needs a re-adjustment
because after watching this, the same tropes are fairly much the same in there
too. All the plots to the writing (whether main or sub) contain numerous genre clichés
that are tired and simply uninteresting.

Before the leads even physically meet it is foreshadowed
that Van Helsing will fall for Anna. That's no spoiler, it's plainly obvious.
Even the plot itself is overused. Why must every movie that involves
Frankenstein's monster have it be "the key" to whatever the villain
is planning? There's also unexplained mythology about several parts to the
plot. Dracula’s weakness and Van Helsing's backstory largely are just hinted
at. Other than that there's no in-depth look; so why even bother? Another
problem is pacing. This movie is over 2 hours long and felt painfully slow, as
if there wasn't even a script to begin with. Plus, the plot dealing with
Frankenstein's monster isn't introduced until around the halfway point. I,
Frankenstein (2014) had the same overall plot, was a half an hour shorter and
managed to make the viewing experience feel somewhat more enjoyable because of
its trimmed running time. Here it just feels like a slow treck through action
scene after action scene.

The last issue to this creature feature is the cast. Jackman
and Beckinsale are probably the only two who play it straight. Jackman was the
better half more because he has better quips for certain situations. Other than
these two people, every other actor is hammy beyond belief. It's one thing if a
single actor hams it up more than everyone else, but when the whole cast is
being over the top, it just feels overly dramatic and in the most silliest of
ways. Carl (David Wenham), Van Helsing's assistant is nothing more than a
sidekick. Will Kemp is useless as Anna's brother. Kevin J. O'Connor as Igor
(who looks like he has John Hurt's makeup from The Elephant Man (1980)) is
wasted because it's shown he has opinions,...but that’s ignored. Shuler Hensley
as Frankenstein's monster is cool looking but does a lot of screaming. The same
goes for Richard Roxburgh as Dracula. He by far chews the most scenery; MORE
than Richard Grant from Rocky V (1990). It's ridiculous.

Richard Roxburgh....

These are the positives to the film and they do make the
viewing better but still not decent enough. Robbe Coltrane voicing Mr. Hyde was
nice hearing again. The action, although too abundant, was mostly entertaining.
Even though by today's standards compared to 2004, even the CGI looked fairly
good. This goes for the action sequences or the slower moving shots. The
cinematography shot by Allen Daviau looks adequate too. Daviau was also the DP
for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) and
Empire of the Sun (1987). Composing the film score to this action fantasy movie
was Alan Silvestri. Turns out for this score, Silvestri does not stick to his
usual sound. Here he incorporates some synth into his motifs. He also arranged
multiple themes for various characters and scene locations. Now if only his
full score would be released, that'd be nice. If you can ignore all the bad
things mentioned before you might enjoy this movie.

Action junkies and Hugh Jackman fans would probably get the
most benefit from this film. It isn't terrible but it has enough issues, with
its painful pacing, overzealous actors and foggy writing. The action, music and
visuals are good but that's what most Stephen Sommers' films have in them. It's
rather boring at times.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Remakes and reboots by far are one of the most despised and looked down upon ideas and concepts that many film goers and critics a like do not enjoy sitting through. Whether it's because Hollywood is trying to cash in on people's nostalgia or running out of ideas, nobody really favors their beloved pieces being redone. Another problem most fans have with these plans is that the people who make these decisions have no understanding of what made the original so beloved. Then they hire a group of people who have no knowledge either, it just insults many viewers' intelligence. But there have been occasions where the exact opposite happens. Take this project for example. To this day, director George A. Romero is best known for his feature film debut with Night of the Living Dead (1968). Being the first of his "dead" franchise, it was quite the groundbreaker. It reinvented horror for filmgoers at the time and had interesting characters to follow and sympathize with; a classic. Why would anyone remake it? Apparently Romero thought it could use an update.

Tony Todd & Patricia Tallman

The majority of the plot itself, written only by Romero, remains largely unchanged. Groups of people end up crossing paths at an abandoned house after they are driven away by cannibalistic dead people known as zombies. The characters involved are also the same. The leads Ben (Tony Todd) and Barbara (Patricia Tallman) work together to defend themselves in the home. They also meet couple Tom (William Butler), Judy Rose (Katie Finneran) and the Cooper family headed by Harry (Tom Towles) who wants nothing but to hide in the basement. Bill Moseley best known at the time for playing "Chop-Top" Sawyer from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2 (1986) even has a small role as Barbara's brother. Aside from these similarities, Romero does pen in some new ideas and changes up several events. One of the new ideas thrown in is Barbara being a strong female lead. Unlike her 1968 counterpart, Barbara takes charge and even questions as to why staying in the house is good idea if you can just walk past a zombie quick enough. All valid points.

Having a strong female lead in a horror movie was not a new thing by the 1990s, but for Romero's remake it was. Tony Todd as Ben plays it up well as the no nonsense type and isn't willing to play games. Even William Butler plays an empathetic character. Lastly, Tom Towles as Harry Cooper plays his role well as the antagonist of the group looking not to fight back. The characters are developed enough as well to where if an individual makes a mistake, the consequence is tough to accept. What's also appreciated is how first timer Tom Savini (who normally does special effects) directed the film. Savini takes Romero's script and helps bring the changes to certain events with ease making the execution almost feel like an alternate reality if things were to happen in a different way. However the film does suffer from its issues. A blatant problem is some of its continuity for unexplained reasons. There are certain things that happen to some characters that don't get an explanation to what exactly happened.

The overall effects to this remake look great too. Everett Burrell served as the special makeup effects supervisor to this project and as a stand-in for Savini, it's fairly decent. Before this Burrell also worked on well-regarded films like Re-Animator (1985), Aliens (1986) and Glory (1989); all of which had a significant amount blood squibs and dismemberment. The zombie designs in this creature feature are much more grotesque than before and that's good. However it's not even the kills in this movie that make this a zombie film, but more of the all the ways a zombie can be displayed. Here there are some severely gnarled up zombies that are quite comical to look at because of their persistence no matter how banged up they are. For a normal horror fan, the shock and scare value aren't much to be seen but there is enough tension buildup to make the viewer wonder “how are these people going to survive?”. The solution may seem trivial but from the past three "dead" films, in greater numbers, zombies aren't easy to fend off.

"Well,....can I have some help?"

It is surprising to know that the MPAA gave the original cut an X rating and required certain scenes to be cut. After all the gory films that appeared during the 1980s, it's amazing Romero's still received the deadliest of all ratings. There were other infamous films far worse than his were. Frank Prinzi was hired as the director of photography for this remake. Since the 1960s many filmmakers moved to color and seeing a retelling of the classic story in a different color tone is a nice touch. Prinzi keeps the scenes well lit even for night and keeps the camera focused as well. The musical score was a disappointment however. The composition was scored by Paul McCollough and looking at his prior work, it's rather unimpressive. The score is entirely made up of synthesizers and rarely does it work. With no main theme this remake feels like it has no identity. A signature tune somewhere would've helped but instead the listening experience is just garbled mess of sporadic tones. It could've been worse though considering it's a remake.

It's music feels largely uninspired and the script does suffer from continuity errors. But for a remake (which many do not support) it's rather decent. The updated script changes, the added color visuals and overall situation is enough to keep the audience engaged for the hour and a half.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Although during the mid 1900s filmmakers were beginning to expand their range of experimentation in their projects, things were still very separate. Many genres during the time stuck within their boundaries. If you made a drama, it stuck to the highlights of personal conflict. If it was a sci-fi film, it focused more on the futuristic aspects of it. The same went for action, horror and comedy films respectively. As the 1980s rolled around, genres began mixing even more. One of the more popular hybrids of the time was the buddy cop genre, which was the fusion of the action and comedy. Now when it comes to adding in another genre to the recipe, that can get tricky. Depending on who's writing, trying to find an even blend for more than one category is not easy. The idea is to produce a product that appeals to each fan of the particular style without alienating them simultaneously. For director Guy Ritchie, it seems that making a feature length movie to the TV show of the same name seemed like no problem considering his previous works.

"Got your tux from Brooks Brothers huh?"

Before this comedic action spy film, Guy Ritchie also directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), Snatch (2000), which were action comedies and the Sherlock Holmes (2009) series, which were action spy films. Written by Lionel Wigram (Sherlock Holmes (2009)) and also Ritchie, this spy action comedy successfully sets out what it was made to do and that's blending all the genres evenly together. During the Cold War era, American professional thief Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) and Russian professional KGB spy Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) are paired up under their ruling nations to try and stop a unknown organization from distributing nuclear warheads. As far as overall execution goes, most of it is straightforward. Only occasionally does the plot get muddled with information for no real reason. This happens when information is being passed between informants. In some ways it's understood that the writers are trying to make this information hard to attain but it does feel overly convoluted.

Co-starring with the two main leads are Gaby (Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina (2015)) as their main ticket of getting access to the unknown organization because her uncle Rudi (Sylvester Groth) being connected to them. Suspected of possessing the warheads is Victoria (Elizabeth Debicki, The Great Gatsby (2013)) for being related to a World War II fascist. In it's entirety, almost all main characters receive the development they require in order for the audience to understand them. Of the cast, the top three rightfully go to Cavill, Hammer and Vikander. Hammer and Cavill have great chemistry for the bickering duo that they are. What's great is not only that they don't like each other because of each other knowing their partners' background, but also for the fact that one is Russian and the other is American. Working with the enemy probably is not a job anybody wants to do. The buddy cop trope of opposite personalities exists but instead of it being shown in attire it is demonstrated through personality, which is different.

Cavill plays it cool and slick, while Hammer plays it brash and hot tempered. These are two extreme opposites yet they both get the job done and that's extraordinary. This also helps in the comedic delivery because of how well they bounce their zingers off each other. Vikander also works because of her ability to be her own character and have her own moments. That also means she doesn't need Cavill or Hammer's character to support her; she can actually manage her own. The action is nicely stylized as well. More of this element goes hand-in-hand with the spy genre where Solo and Kuryakin are required to go around as other characters. Another situation might be when the two are trying to outrun another character so that they aren't caught and their cover is blown. It's crafty business and it looks fun with the energy put on screen. The only thing that may be a bit off putting is the costume design for the finale build up. The costume designer to this production was Joanna Johnston (Hellraiser (1987) & Forrest Gump (1994)).

Alicia Vikander

For the display on screen much of the color schemes and designs look very much like Cold War era clothing. Yet when it gets closer to the finale, Hammer and Cavill dress in military suits that resemble that of The Expendables (2010). The rest is fine though. The cinematography shot by John Mathieson is brightly lit and has plenty of landscape to see whether it's urban or rural terrain. The musical score provided by composer Daniel Pemberton is interesting too. Although he doesn't have a main theme for the franchise itself, he does give separate themes for the characters. An example would be Kuryakin where every time he gets angry. But even this, Pemberton also creates a score very close to that of what someone would hear from the era. It's psychedelic and also relaxing to listen to. Pemberton also includes drums and timpani for various action cues although they are a not as memorable as the other tracks mentioned before. However, this is largely a solid effort that should not be ignored.

Its main leads have natural chemistry thanks to some adequate writing. It does however suffer from infrequent times when the plot can get confusing for no reason because of it being in the spy genre. But it's not much to say when the music and visuals to the movie add to the style of how closely it matches the era that its source material spawned from. The action is also fun seeing how the characters get around.